Arthur H. Nethercot
by George J. Dance Arthur Hobart Nethercot (April 20, 1895 - January 8, 1981) was an American poet and academic.Biographical / Historical information, Guide to the Arthur H. Nethercot (1895-1981) papers, Northwestern University. Web, July 23, 2015. Life Youth and education Nethercot was born in Austin, Illinois, the oldest child of Anna (Hobart) and Charles Nethercot. He attended public school in Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois. He attended Northwestern University (NU), where he earned a B.A. in 1915 and an M.A. in 1916. He taught at St. Alban's School for Boys, 1916-1917, and then served with the Ambulance Corps and Field Artillery during World War I. Following the war, he attended the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.D. in 1922. Career Nethercot returned to NU as an instructor of English in 1919. He became a full professor in the English Department in 1939, and was Franklyn Bliss Snyder professor of English from 1961 until his retirement. After his 1963 retirement from Northwestern he served aas visiting professor of English at the University of Kansas, 1964; the University of Montana, 1964-1965; Transylvania University, 1967; Colorado College, 1968; and Pennsylvania State University, 1971. Nethercot founded a chapter of the College Poetry Society of America at Northwestern in 1920. He was associate editor, and from 1933 to 1935 editor-in-chief, of the Society's journal, College Verse. In 1942-1943 he served as secretary of the Drama section of the Modern Language Association. At Northwestern he was a member of the American Association of University Professors, and president of the local chapter in 1943-49. Nethercot was a prolific writer in many fields. In addition to writing poetry, essays and short stories that were published in popular periodicals, his scholarly interests were focused on biography and the dramatic literature of the 16th through the 20th centuries. His first book, published in 1931, was a biography of Abraham Cowley, followed by a biography of Sir William Davenant, published in 1938. He was considered one of the world's leading scholars on George Bernard Shaw. He was a member of the Shaw Review editorial board from 1959 until his death. His research on Shaw led him to discover and become interested in Annie Besant, a Theosophist and close friend of Shaw's. In 1960 Nethercot published The First Five Lives of Annie Besant, followed by The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant in 1963. Nethercot was married twice. He had 2 children – Arthur Jr. and William – with his 1st wife, Mary (Macougall).Arthur H. Nethercot Jr. obituary, Obituaries for Life. Web, July 23, 2015. He died in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recognition Nethercot received the Alumni Merit Award in 1959 and delivered the second Alumni Fund Lecture in 1962. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and gave the annual lecture in 1963. The Friends of Literature presented him with its biography award for his 2-volume work, Lives of Annie Besant, in 1964. He was the recipient of 2 Fulbright Fellowships: a research fellowship in India (1956-1957), and a lectureship at the University of Cologne (1965-66). Publications Poetry *"The Funeral March of a Marionette", Poet Lore 31:2. Boston: 1920. Short fiction *''A Book of Long Stories''. New York: Macmillan, 1927. Non-fiction *''The Reputation of Abraham Cowley, 1660-1800''. Philadelphia: 1923. *''Abraham Cowley as Dramatist''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1928. *''Abraham Cowley: The Muses' Hannibal''. London: Humphrey Milford / Oxford University Press, 1931; New York: Russell & Russell, 1967. *''Sir William D'avenant: Poet-laureate and playwright-manager''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938; **(with additional notes), New York: Russell & Russell, 1967. *''The Road to Tryermaine: A study of the history, background, and purposes of Coleridge's "Christabel". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939; New York: Russell & Russel, 1962. *''Men and Supermen: The Shavian portrait gallery. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1954. *''The First Five Lives of Annie Besant''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960; London: Rupert Hart-Davies, 1961. *''The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963; London: Rupert Hart-Davies, 1963. Edited *''College Verse'' (literary magazine). College Poetry Society of America, 1933-1934.College Verse (7 Issues Published Monthly-1933 & 1934), Amazon.com. Web, July 23, 2015. *''Elizabethan and Stuart Plays'' (edited with Charles Read Baskervill & Virgil B Heltzel). New York: Holt, 1934 ** also published as Elizabethan Plays (edited with Virgil B. Heltzel). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1971. *''Stuart Plays'' (edited with Charles Read Baskervill & Virgil B Heltzel). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1971. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Arthur H. Nethercot, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 23, 2015. See also *List of U.S. poets References Fonds *Guide to the Arthur H. Nethercot (1895-1981) papers, Northwestern University. Notes External links ;Poems *"Triad" in Poetry, September 1922 ;Books *Arthur H. Nethercot at Amazon.com ;About *Nethercot, Arthur H., 1895-1981 at Social Networks & Archival Content *Arthur H. Nethecot, Jr. obituary Category:1895 births Category:1981 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:American poets Category:American biographers Category:American academics Category:English-language poets Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:Northwestern University faculty Category:Poets